Pages

Saturday, 4 April 2015

Keep Calm and Follow the Creed

Over the past
few years variations of the now famous World War II poster, “Keep Calm and
Carry On” have spread from the internet to the mass market adorning bags,
poster, and coffee mugs. Most are
intended to be funny and convey either motivational messages like, “Keep Calm
and Love Life” to those invoking some film or television program or characters
like, “Keep Calm and Use the Force”, while others pertain to a lifestyle like,
“Keep Calm and Smoke Weed”. So it was
inevitable that an Assassin’s Creed variation would emerge, “Keep Calm and
Follow the Creed”.

I would guess
that fans of the video game franchise had a laugh and maybe posted it on their
webpages, but there is actually some valuable
life advice in remembering to keep calm and follow the Creed.

Here are some ways
to Keep Calm and Follow the Creed.

Remember Nothing
is True…

Accept
Diversity and Freedom

Everyone has
their own perspective on reality and most people see theirs as the right one,
so without condoning or condemning accept the existence of these other
realities and respect the rights of others to have them. Expecting or forcing others
to conform to your ideas of how they should think or act only frustrates you
and angers them.

This Too
Shall Pass

Life is
change. Today’s reality, good or bad,
will be tomorrow’s memory and memories are just thoughts. If today is good, then appreciate it while it
lasts. If today is bad, don’t worry,
because it will not last forever and tomorrow might be better.

Do Not Allow
Yourself to Become Too Attached To Things

A primary
source of human sorrow is the real or imagined loss of things. These “things” can be anything – possessions,
places, a certain lifestyle, public services, respect or love, cherished beliefs, relationships with others,
and even youth, strength, and beauty. We
may have these things for years or decades but in the end they will all change
and will all pass. Learn to accept that
truth.

Be Wary of
the Fear Impulse

A primary
source of human anger, cruelty, and frustration is their fear that they will
not get the things they want or that they may lose the things they have. Recognise this impulse in yourself and others
and make allowances for both. For
yourself, accept that fear is not real.
It is the emotional response to a perceived threat which may be real or
imagined. Fear simply tells us to pay
attention and should not be allowed to motivate our actions, cloud the mind, or
force us into despair.

Don’t Deal In
Hypotheticals

Hypotheticals,
assumptions, and preconceptions are just opinions and speculations elevated falsely
to the level of truth. People often have
strong emotional reactions to their idea of things rather than the reality of
things. Learn to look at what is and not
what you think might be or might happen.

Accept That
You (And Others) Are Most Likely Wrong

Consider the
potential cognitive biases of yourselves and others that can cloud
understanding the situation or the people involved.

Remember Everything
Is Permitted…

Do Not Limit
Yourself

Often, people
cannot do something because they have been socially conditioned not to do it;
as a result, certain actions go against their programming. The program punishes violations with emotions
like fear, anger, guilt, shame, or a vague internal resistance. Learn to recognise and overcome your limiting
programming to do what you deem necessary and do not be limited in your actions
by the opinions of other people, whether these opinions are actual opinions or
those that you imagine others to have.

Learn to Limit
Yourself

A common
feature of human existence is doing what we do not want to do now in order to
get something better later. This
requires self-discipline and deferred gratification. These qualities have been identified as a key
feature in people who succeed in life.

Look For New Opportunities and Possibilities

Your
existence is a blank page full of possibilities. It is up to you to fill that page. Decide what kind of life you want and make it
happen.

Recognise What
Can and Cannot Be Changed

Everything is
permitted does not mean that every action is wise. There are things you can change and things
you cannot. Accept what cannot be
changed and change the things you can.

Focus On What
is Important and Let Go of the Trivial

Whatever we
focus on has importance. This is
illustrated in games where the player is so focused on gaining collectibles
that it becomes the most important activity in their life until they change
their perspective and realise how trivial it really is. These are referred to as “first world
problem”. Trivial matters that people
become angry or upset about because they do not have to worry about serious
survival issues. Take a moment and ask
yourself if your crisis is really that important.

Cultivate
Your Power and Will

Power is
simply the means to work your will in the world. Everything may be permitted, but acting on
that permission is limited by the power at your disposal and your willingness
to use that power. The most common form
of power is material power in the form of money. Being low in this resource limits your range
of actions. This is also true if you
have the resources but lack the will to use it.
Building your resources before they are needed will give you the power
to act when the crisis comes.

Accept the
Consequences of Your Actions,

Whether they
be glorious or tragic; celebrate the good outcomes and learn from the negative
ones.

1 comment:

About This Collection

In April 2011, after playing Assassin's Creed Brotherhood for the umpteenth time, I wrote down some of the ideas that came to mind while playing the game. These became an article on my Evil Thoughts of a Decadent Mind page. This proved to be my most popular piece accounting for over half the hits on the site at about 54,000 views. Naturally when looking for an economically viable project the topic of Assassin's Creed seemed the most potentially successful. I wrote about five chapters and got stuck.

The Creed itself -- Nothing is True, Everything is Permitted -- proved to be, as Frederick Nietzsche described it, "labyrinthine". Rather than writing a critical analysis of the game series I found myself contemplating the Creed and its ramifications. In this I found another book topic, but I still wanted to write whatever came to mind about the ideas expressed in the game series. I decided that the best way to do this was to create a dedicated Assassin's Creed page. Especially since , with a new game being released each year, the book could never be truly finished.

As a video game, Assassin's Creed is judged primarily on its game play, but you won't find that here. No hints, no guides, and no discussion of combat mechanics. Another aspect of Assassin's Creed is story. Some folks love jumping off buildings but there is also the world or mythology of Assassin's Creed -- meaning the vast lore of the series. That plays a part, but you won't find the life story of Ezio Auditore or Edward Kenway here.

What you will find is another less talked about feature of games of this nature. There is story and stories have characters, settings, and plots, but also themes. The themes presented in narrative fiction dramatize the philosophy the creator is conveying, either with or without conscious intent.

You can call it the deeper or hidden meanings, but the truth is that it is just what I see in the games. They are my interpretations, which can be completely different from those laid out by the creative team in the offices of Ubisoft during late night meetings. Since "nothing is true" I accept on the outset that I could be wrong. That is for you to decide.

My focus here is real world philosophy applicable to real world living inspired by the themes found in the lore of Assassin's Creed. Hence the title -- Assassin's Creed: Inspirations.